Any experience with zoverstocks/Music Magpie?

Anyone?

 

All fine for me.

 

All fine for me, too. I don't have unrealistically high expectations from this outfit. I use an Amazon wishlist for OOP stuff I'm looking to acquire and, on a pretty regular basis, Zoverstocks "shows up" with a very reasonably-priced offer for something I want. What I don't expect is to receive something in fantastic condition. If the item isn't a cat toy, has intact artwork, and the music can be played/ripped without error, I'm satisfied. Roughly half the time, the condition of a purchased item exceeds my expectations, and I just treat that as a bonus.

I'm not sure they drop ship, as some have expected. I think they have a huge inventory of used stuff, with lots of turnover. There have been times I've ordered a collectible item that was vastly underpriced, and they've subsequently canceled my order (i.e., there seems to be a correlation in this scenario). Their follow-up email typically indicates they noticed something didn't pass the "sniff test" with regard to quality, but my perception is that they've "caught on" to their pricing error. Finally, they sometimes ship the wrong item (something completely different, or the artwork matches the item sold when the disc does not, etc.). In these cases, they have typically just issued a refund ... but I think they're starting to demand returns (which can be shipped to a U.S. address, in my experience).

As a buyer and collector, they are an asset, IMO. And when something goes wrong, they do the right thing (at least they have for me).

 

This seller is always very honest and promptly responds to any emails within 24 hours. The only problems I've had with them were normal accidents; situations where the wrong CD was shipped and this means another buyer probably received the item I purchased and in turn, they probably received my order. No seller gains anything from these mistakes, but the point is that we're all human and mistakes will be made regardless of expectations. In the rare event there is a problem, they address it immediately and I've been very impressed with the quality of service and product delivered by this excellent seller.

 

Zoverstocks/Music Magpie used to be great. But twice in the last year they have sent me the wrong CD. I returned it (free post) and ordered the same album again, only for them to re-send the same wrong CD. They seem to be getting their order codes mixed up and then not fixing them.

Anyone else had this?

 

Nope, all good.

 

I usually end up ordering from them once or twice a month on an average and never had any issues. Their shipping timeline is listed on the Amazon listing which sets my expectation appropriately.

 

They've always worked for me, but I've only bought from them once in the last six months or so.

 

Definitely. This has happened to me numerous times. I suppose it's human error that titles will sometimes be incorrectly cataloged within their system, but when it's brought to their attention, they don't seem to correct the mistake to prevent future buyers from receiving the wrong item and that's disheartening.

 

Roughly a quarter of packages from Zoverstocks (UK) bought from Amazon never arrive to me. I've contacted my postmaster and they don't know what is up. On the customs form label that are on the packages that did arrive the date is usually 1-3 days after I send payment so I don't think the issue is with Zoverstocks themselves but with Royal Mail. Unless Royal Mail has some special shipping arrangement with the big UK sellers that is even slower than regular air mail.

 

All good experiences for me with Zoverstocks and I hope the seller can continue to do so well but based on complaints I am seeing, it doesn't look promising. I have no idea how Zoverstocks or decluttr_store or any other discount online music seller makes enough to justify continuing the business. With delivery service losses and damage, frivolous buyer returns, and inevitable seller mistakes, it is almost impossible to make it work in my opinion. I am a long term low volume eBay seller, non business seller, and can see how tough it is from my experience. I accepted a return yesterday because the buyer's SACD player was no longer working properly, shipping fees and 30 cent PayPal fee down the toilet.

I don't know how Amazon fees work and can't guess how much is lost with each return accepted but I can't imagine the profit margin is any better than eBay overall.

 

Good point. Honestly, that's why I've overlooked their past mistakes and have considered each purchase a donation. Human error can be expected in every industry and I want for these sellers to be around for many years to come.

 

I thought Zoverstocks went away with a change of name to Musicmagpie? I'm probably wrong, as usual.

Regardless - I buy from Musicmagpie all the time. I receive 3 to 4 packages from them a week.

Clearly, my experience is good enough for me to keep using them. I will add these caveats though:

1) If you're someone who only wants MINT, then I'd not use them. While some items may arrive in Mint condition, the vast majority are exactly as advertised: Used. Assume an item shows signs of wear.

2) Periodically you get the standard response: "We are sorry, your item failed its last inspection", along with a cancellation. I don't believe there is any truth in this. Something gets broken at the order taking stage, and you either win or lose based on that. This is common enough to mention.

3) Prices aren't consistent. MusicMapgie sells on both Amazon and Ebay. The prices don't always match. If it's a pricey item you're buying, be sure to check both sites for the best deal.

That said, for someone like myself, I've been able to buy literally hundreds upon hundreds of discs (CD) from them, and I still use them. They have a big catalog, and a huge churn of new titles coming in.

 

I've been using them for a while and just recently had one item not turn up (a refund was promptly given) and just today an item described as "very good" turned up with scratches and considerable water damage to the artwork so I have contacted them and await some sort of reimbursment. Overall however I've mainly had good experiences.

 

Ordered once. 2 CDs. They sent me scratched unplayable rubbish advertised as perfectly good.

Not buying from them ever again.

 

They pay little for their product (typically 10 percent unless rare) and make their money in the long tail.